There are a handful of restaurants in Montreal I feel privileged to dine at, and of those rare few, La Chronique is easily in my top three. I’ve admired the place since it opened in 1995, and have been fortunate enough to review it three times. There have always been 34 seats, and the room – be it painted yellow, red or today’s steely grey – has always been cozy and classy. If you’re looking for a romantic restaurant, this one is hard to beat. The food is as gorgeous as delicious, the wine pairings are brilliant, and the service has always epitomized the word solicitous. It doesn’t get half the foodie buzz of many other “hot” establishments, but who cares? Sophisticated as all get out, La Chronique is to the Montreal dining scene what Meryl Streep is to acting.

At a time when we’re experiencing a sort of upscale bistro revolution, it’s fascinating to enjoy a meal at La Chronique to see how French market cuisine can avoid looking stuffy or, worse yet, dated. I ate here twice this month – first lunch, then dinner – and both meals impressed with all the elements that make haute cuisine haute: a balance of flavours and textures, impeccable technique, pristine ingredients, swish presentations.

Chef-owner Marc De Canck has long been considered one of Montreal’s best. A Belgian native, De Canck has a European vision that, during the late ’90s, provided a contrast to Montreal’s other great chef, Normand Laprise. For years, these two were the chefs-du-moment in Montreal. Laprise had a more flamboyant style, whereas De Canck’s was bold. At Laprise’s Toqué! there were more unusual flavours at play. De Canck had a simpler repertoire (though I do recall some green-tea-smoked scallops). But a night at La Chronique was more intimate and included a stronger emphasis on wines. At Laprise’s table you got sparks, but at De Canck’s, a flawless upscale dining experience was all but guaranteed.

Today both men have taken a back seat to younger chefs de cuisines. For the past seven years at La Chronique, that chef is De Canck’s talented stepson (and partner) Olivier de Montigny. The style under de Montigny remains bold, yet compared with what I remember from the De Canck days, perhaps a bit more elaborate. Yet there is a refinement of flavour here that continues from the early days. Simply put: La Chronique’s food tastes posh.

In the great European tradition, La Chronique has always done lunch. And though lunch here can be a simple two-course affair, it’s hard to resist the menu’s little extras: foie gras, deer, crayfish. And who can resist a glass of wine – or two – sold with great care and knowledge by sommelier Jonathan Sitaras. With a glass of California chardonnay, Kendall-Jackson’s K-J Avant, I enjoyed a plate of beef carpaccio that was seared on the outside, raw within and paired with Asian spices, mushrooms and dabs of spicy aioli. With the same wine came a dish featuring shrimp set among little piles of crunchy quinoa mixed with garlic and spice and beet-leaf sprouts. Both gorgeous.

Before the main courses hit the table, Sitaras arrived with two bottles of wine, an elegant Côtes du Rhône and a Sicilian Nero d’avola. I mention the wine here because it is such an integral part of the La Chronique experience. They even allow you a little taste of each before deciding. Granted, the food is strong enough to stand alone. But the added boost of a well-matched wine enhances the experience two-fold.

And boy were those mains awesome. First, a simple filet of grilled organic salmon placed on a bed of pea and lobster risotto surrounded by a pool of bisque-like sauce. Though rich, this dish wasn’t over the top and the portion was ideal for a lunch feast.

The next dish was a fresh take on tournedos Rossini. Here, two small beef tournedos were served on a bed of puréed Jerusalem artichoke and topped with fat nuggets of foie gras.

With wild mushrooms, pearl onions and a few dribbles of pan juices around the meat, this was a dish fit for the grandest occasion. What luxury.

Yet at dinner time, La Chronique is even more luxurious. On a blustery night, I sat at one of La Chronique’s comfortable banquettes watching the weather turn foul as I sipped reisling and slurped up a gorgeous corn soup. A De Canck signature dish, this soup has long been a favourite, and I think it’s now even better. Served in a covered bowl, the dish starts out with a single fat scallop topped with truffle shavings and surrounded by sautéed leeks. De Montigny arrives at the table and pours the corn soup over top. The soup, made with Quebec corn that is flash frozen in season, is sweet and bright flavoured, with none of that overwhelming starchy taste you get from old corn. The leeks add a rustic touch, and that scallop brings in the fresh taste of the sea. Marvellous.

Another appetizer scored almost as high. This one featured lobster bits strewn throughout ribbons of fresh pappardelle, mixed with caviar. It all seems a little too soft until I hit a few bits of tiny crisp croutons that added a contrasting texture. Nice.

Our young sommelière at night kept the wine choices interesting, bringing us a choice of expensive bottles (think big Californian wines at $25 per glass) or cheaper bottles (around the $12-per-glass mark). If you’re up for a treat, the pricey glasses are the way to go, yet the cheaper wines are so well chosen that I wonder why you’d bother.

Main courses at night are copious, but I had no problem polishing off my portion. A beautiful plate of Boileau venison counted two large slices of succulent filet with roasted ratte potatoes and a heady Grand Veneur sauce, which brought it all to life. And then there was a dish featuring guinea hen that again featured lovely little ratte potatoes, this time topped with truffles. But more importantly, the velvety pieces of hen breast were wrapped in crisp golden skin, and a braised leg was just falling-off-the-bone tender. Oh la la ...

Alas, though it seems all is perfection at La Chronique, desserts lack the level of sophistication of the savoury plates. Chef de Montigny prepared a tasting plate for two, and the chocolate cake, ice creams (vanilla, coffee, raspberry sorbet), and a lemon curd cake that arrived were far from the desserts with diverse textures, unusual flavours and modern techniques making waves on the restaurant scene right now. They tell me they like desserts that way, and I respect that. But I can’t help wishing they’d attempt something a bit more edgy. Then again, you can always finish a meal here with a cheese plate (they carry 16 to 20 varieties from Yannick Fromager in Outremont) and another glass of fine wine. Just being in this calm and refined setting is half the charm of a meal at La Chronique.

Not hip, not trendy, and probably not topping as many of those where-to-eat-in-Montreal guides and lists as it should, La Chronique remains the restaurant beloved by people who really know and care about food and wine.

Which brings me to yet another new year’s resolution: Save up to dine at La Chronique as often as possible.

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